Gentry County, Missouri
Gentry County is a county located in Northwest Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,738. Its county seat is Albany. The county was organized February 14, 1845 and named for Colonel Richard Gentry of Boone County who fell in the Seminole War in 1837. Geography According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 99.94%) is land and (or 0.06%) is water. Adjacent counties *Worth County (north) *Harrison County (east) *Daviess County (southeast) *DeKalb County (south) *Andrew County (southwest) *Nodaway County (west) Major highways * U.S. Route 136 * U.S. Route 169 * Route 85 Demographics 2012 Estimate }} As of the census of 2010, there were 6,738 people, 2,674 households, and 1,789 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 3,209 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.38% White, 0.31% Black or African American, 0.27% Asian, 0.19% Native American, 0.16% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. 0.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,674 households, of which 29.06% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.42% were married couples living together, 8.23% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% were non-families. 29.02% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.07% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.03. In the county the population was spread out with 24.55% under the age of 18, 7.85% from 18 to 24, 20.67% from 25 to 44, 26.43% from 45 to 64, and 20.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.4 years. For every 100 females there were 93.62 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.43 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,556, and the median income for a family was $46,458. Males had a median income of $33,558 versus $25,815 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,021. About 9.30% of families and 14.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.40% of those under age 18 and 15.00% of those age 65 or over. Cities and towns Religion According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2010), Gentry County is sometimes regarded as being on the northern edge of the Bible Belt, with evangelical Protestantism being the most predominant religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Gentry County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (46.29%), United Methodists (18.20%), and Disciples of Christ (13.12%). Education Public Schools *Albany R-III School District – Albany **Virginia E. George Elementary School (PK-05) **Albany Middle School (06-08) **Albany High School (09-12) *King City R-I School District – King City **King City Elementary School (PK-06) **King City High School (07-12) *Stanberry R-II School District – Stanberry **King City Elementary School (K-06) **King City High School (07-12) Politics Local The Democratic Party controls politics at the local level in Gentry County. Democrats hold all but three of the elected positions in the county. State Gentry County is divided into two legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives, both of which are held by Republicans. *District 3 – Casey Guernsey (R-Bethany). Consists of the communities of Gentry and McFall. *District 5 – Glen Klippenstein (R-Maysville). Consists of the communities of Albany, Darlington, King City, and Stansberry. All of Gentry County is a part of Missouri’s 12th District in the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Brad Lager (R-Savannah). Federal All of Gentry County is included in Missouri’s 6th Congressional District and is currently represented by Sam Graves (R-Tarkio) in the U.S. House of Representatives. All of Gentry County, along with the rest of the state of Missouri, is represented in the U.S. Senate by Claire McCaskill (D-Kirkwood ) and Roy Blunt (R-Strafford). McCaskill was elected in 2006 by a narrow margin statewide, but Gentry County supported her opponent, incumbent Jim Talent. She is seeking re-election in 2012 against Congressman Todd Akin. |candidate = Lewis Lydia |votes = 41 |percentage = 1.44 |change = +1.44 }} Blunt was elected in 2010 over Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan. Political culture At the presidential level, Gentry County is Republican-leaning. George W. Bush carried the county easily in 2000 and 2004. Bill Clinton was the last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Gentry County in 1996, and like many of the rural counties throughout Missouri, Gentry County strongly favored John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008. Like most rural areas throughout northwest Missouri, voters in Gentry County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which tend to influence their Republican leanings. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly won in Gentry County with 79.9% of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71% support from voters. In 2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it failed in Gentry County with 58.3% voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51% of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approve embryonic stem cell research. Despite Gentry County's longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing populist causes like increasing the minimum wage. In 2006, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition B) to increase the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 an hour—it passed Gentry County with 63.3% of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 78.99% voting in favor. (During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage.) Missouri Presidential Preference Primaries 2012 In the 2012 Missouri Republican Presidential Primary, voters in Gentry County supported former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania), who finished first in the state at large, but eventually lost the nomination to former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts). Delegates to the state convention were chosen at a county caucus, which selected a delegation favoring Santorum. 2008 *Former U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) received more votes, a total of 409, than any candidate from either party in Gentry County during the 2008 presidential primary. Miscellaneous On March 5, 2010, a jury awarded seven neighboring farmers $11 million in damages from Premium Standard Farms over odors emanating from an hog farm of that processes 200,000 hogs near Berlin in Gentry County - the largest such award in history.Hog farm operators ordered to pay $11M for odor - St. Louis Bizjournal - March 5, 2010 See also *National Register of Historic Places listings in Gentry County, Missouri References External links *Gentry County Library * Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Gentry County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books Category:Gentry County, Missouri Category:Counties of Missouri